Textile historians tell us that crochet is a relatively young craft.
The time to put crochet on the map and develop this craft even further
is at hand. As a teacher, and a lifelong learner, I want to encourage
the reader to join, or continue (depending where you find yourself) the
journey of learning more about crochet. If it takes a village to raise a
child, it takes a flock of crocheters to raise the profile of our
craft.
I've heard crocheters comment, with slight bemusement, that knitters
always seem to need classes to learn anything. New classes are always
being procured for knitters, while crochet classes just don't seem to
fill up and are often cancelled. Some crocheters are quick to say that
they know everything there is to know about crochet, and what they don't
know they'll learn from the internet, videos, or books. So it becomes a
vicious cycle, and crocheters stay on the fringes of the greater
picture of yarn users.
I can't believe that out of the hundreds of thousands of crocheters
out there, a majority have decided they are not life-long learners when
it comes to our craft. I'd like to share with you some characteristic
behaviors of those individuals who choose to be life-longer learners.
First, a crocheter who is a lifelong learner takes the stance of
being a beginner. They don't consider themselves experts, even if they
have several decades of expertise to their name. They know that once
they consider themselves experts, they will have closed themselves off
to growth and development. Instead they keep an open mind, one which
sees and grasps opportunities to learn something new… a new way to
turn a row, a new stitch combination or a new place to insert the hook.
Lifelong learners are able to look at crochet from different vantage
points, the finished piece, the pattern stitch and gauge used, and the
isolated stitches that are the bottom-up bits and pieces. She would see
how the stitches are combined at the micro level affect the overall
composition, drape and look of the finished piece. They see how new
challenges, problems, puzzles, and opportunities in their crochet work
connect to prior ones. If a crocheter reshapes a garment to fit her
physique, she will take note of the problems and the solutions that she
eventually found and draw upon that experience the next time she
reshapes a garment. The particular situation, structure, stitch pattern
will be different, but the process she went through the first time will
be an invaluable resource.
Lifelong learners learn “just because" Learning for learning's sake
might involve trying a granny-square in half-double's or treble
crochets just to see what needs to change when it's not the usual
double-crochet. Or taking a class in garment finishing just because it's
there and available. A life-long learner sees how one crocheter makes a
picot stitch with a different technique than their own, and rather than
say, “It's wrong, they try it out themselves, for the heck of it.
"Why?" is the characteristic question of the curious crocheter. Why
can't I get row tension consistently? Why does the alpaca content of the
yarn make the garment in the pattern look so much nicer than the yarn I
chose to use? Why are there US and UK terms for crochet? And so on.
Being curious about the crucial and the more mundane aspects of our
craft is what helps this kind of crocheter continue to grow and learn.
A lifelong learner chooses more than one avenue or mode of learning.
It may be online videos, it may be a Chain Link conference, or it may be
a cosy shared stitching time with a crochet mentor. Books and photos
may be one's preferred way of learning, but a lifelong learner will
leave the comfort of her books and venture out to a stitching circle, or
someone who has never used the internet will start on the wondrous
journey of discovery available through the immense resources online.
A final key behaviour of the life-long learner is one who teaches
others. They may not be formally certified and promoted as traveling
teachers, because that's not everyone's cup of tea. They do, however,
love to share and nudge, and steer other crocheters to understanding and
grasping a new skill. They may teach a newbie or a veteran, and they do
it with infectious joy and empathetic patience.
What kind of crocheter are you? Have you decided you don't need to
learn more? You've arrived. You're done. There is nothing anyone else
can show you? Or are you a lifelong learner?
If you're interested in adopting these behaviours of a lifelong
learner in your crocheting, try the following suggestions. Reflect on
each behaviour separately and see how you measure up. Perhaps you
already do some of them in part. That's great! But where are the gaps?
Once you've identified which ones you'd like to get better at, try them
out. Share this article with a crocheting friend and talk about it
together. Challenge and cheer each other on as you learn. Find other
crocheters who already are lifelong learners and model yourself after
them. Ask them how they overcame some of the roadblocks that you may be
feeling are in your way to becoming a lifelong learner in crochet.
If you're a blogger, blog about it; if you're in online forums start
discussion threads about it. If you're in a guild, check to see if any
guild members feel in the same rut you feel yourself to be. Now that
there is so much ease of access to designers, find them on Ravelry and
ask them where they teach or if they teach. Go to your local yarn store
(if possible with 3 or 4 others in tow) and ask them to find a teacher
for you (tell them about the designers you chatted with on Ravelry, ¦or
offer to teach yourself. If big box stores are all you have in your
area, why not ask the local community adult education venues if you
could teach a class there. Again, look online at the offerings of online
classes and see if that's a learning mode that suits your style, or
better yet…adopt a new learning style that's out of your comfort
zone.
If you are near one of the large yarn fairs like Stitches or fiber
fairs like Maryland Sheep and Wool festival, attend them, and more
importantly bring other crocheters along. What about approaching the
organizers en masse with requests for learning opportunities that
explore more than the basics? Vogue is running a big education event in
NYC this coming January. Crochet is part of it. This is an amazing
opportunity to put crochet education on the map alongside knitting. Can
you imagine the setback for crochet if it's poorly attended and the
classes are cancelled?
I trust you feel my passion for learning in the above words. Please
share your stories of lifelong learning with me at any time. Share how
you are joining the movement to build a history of crochet. You can find
me as on Ravelry and Crochetville and in other social media online. I
hope you have caught a bit of my enthusiasm for learning. So some of you
may wonder if I think knitters make better lifelong learners than
crocheters. I don't really think so, but for whatever reason, if there
is a collective voice of lifelong learners of crochet, it is too quiet,
too muzzled, and it's time to take our hooks and turn them into new
tools for learning.
CharlesVothDesigns.ca
JenniferSH636
